FIVE MINUTE FORTNIGHT: The simple joys of fast bowling, with Wahab Riaz and Kemar Roach; have England got their one day formula right; the ECB's plan to start the season abroad; and the heartwrench of falling short of a 50.

"It's an annoying cliche that the low-scoring games are the best - but it's kind of true as well"

FROM THE ARCHIVES (9'55 onwards):The carrom ball

"To even get the ball out of your hand with this grip is hard enough. To land it with any degree of accuracy requires masterly control."

FIVE MINUTE FORTNIGHT: The perverse attitude of village cricket; the optimism of the ECB's new strategic plan; India shirking their responsibility to Zimbabwe; and what the investigation into Asad Rauf means to cricket.

"The rain got heavier, gale force winds building up - and yet there was an unnatural determination on both sides"

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'30 onwards):Bart King - the story of America's finest cricketer

"He sent all his fielders but one off the pitch. The bails of the shattered stumps landed neatly at the feet of that one remaining man."

THE INTERVIEW (18'10 onwards): Vithushan Ehantharajah, freelance writer for Cricinfo and All Out Cricket

"What I hope to see this summer? Ravi Bopara coming into the England test side and never looking back"

THE REVIEW (37'10 onwards):BBC Radio 5 Live's Not Just Cricket, with Graeme Swann and James Anderson

"Graeme Swann's personality ended up leading the whole thing - which frankly can't be a surprise to anyone"

FIVE MINUTE FORTNIGHT: The nobility and intrigue of early season county cricket; playing against the brother of an ex England captain in an Essex club game; and why Zimbabwe and Bangladesh need to pull their socks up.

"In terms of mental maturity, these are two batting line ups with a long way to go"

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8'20 onwards):Nasser Hussain and the 2002 Brisbane toss

FIVE MINUTE FORTNIGHT: How we learned to stop worrying and love the IPL, County Cricket is back (welcome back long lost friend),the ICC Intercontinental Cup is slightly mad and BPL organizers should be less tight.

"I challenge any cricket fan not to be excited by the sight of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting going out to bat together."

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Wisden at 150

"Nowhere else in the world are you going to find the top scorers of the English public schools sitting side by side with the top scorers in the IPL."

THE REVIEW: Pundits from Pakistan - Rahul Bhattacharya

""Laxman poked, missed, bent over and generally responded like a man whom knives were being thrown at" - It's genius."

THE DEBATE: Is it possible to select a player on talent even when performance isn't there?

THE 5 MINUTE FORTNIGHT: Umar Gul takes 5-6 (again!), NZ's improbable heroes, the Bangladesh Cricket Board decides to settle for draws and we worry about whether there will be cricket on the fifth day of the Ashes test at Lords.

("You are basically rewarding mediocrity")

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A Brief History of New Zealand Cricket

("I'm going to quote from Charles Darwin's "The Voyage of the Beagle"")

THE REVIEW: Not Dark Yet - Mike Harfield

("You get half way through an over and then there's a discussion on the Falklands War")

THE DEBATE: Does cricket needs to do more to address the issue of recreational drug use?

("There's always been an unwritten pact that the players do what they want as long as it doesn't affect them on the field")

THE 5 MINUTE FORTNIGHT: South Africa need to stop ruining test cricket, Zimbabwe need to stop shooting themselves in the foot, Ricky Ponting is still making runs and the discovery of the most beautiful ground in the world.

"I've never seen anything which is quite this bold and extraordinary"

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The curious tale of the International 20:20 Championship

"Having 3 bowl-outs in Leicestershire's indoor cricket school must have been a fairly miserable start to this tournament"

THE REVIEW: The Chinaman - Shehan Karunatilaka

"Pradeep Matthews can bowl both left-handed and right-handed"

THE DEBATE: Was England women's cricket team acting within the Spirit of Cricket in their game against West Indies?